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00:05A 9-1-1 call came in.
00:07An armed intruder broke into this house.
00:09Did you see her like the loudest bang?
00:11I saw my wife laying on the ground.
00:14She was only 39 years old.
00:17At the peak of her life, it was awful.
00:19All I kept thinking about were her kids
00:22and how are they going to get through life without her.
00:26We have a murderer in camouflage
00:28running around the neighborhood.
00:30The entire street was full of state troopers and police dogs.
00:35Do you know of anybody who would want to do this?
00:37The contractor.
00:39He took their money and they were taking him to court.
00:42He was pretty hostile towards them.
00:44Usually in a murder case, you hear about DNA.
00:48But in this case, the Fitbit completely contradicted his story
00:53and was the star of the show.
00:56He thought he had the perfect plan
00:57and that he could get away with it.
00:59It hadn't been a spur-of-the-moment crime.
01:02This was a planned cold-blooded murder.
01:0411-13-27-3.
01:25Ellington, Connecticut is a charming small town.
01:28It's a farming community.
01:32It's probably one of the friendliest places on earth to live.
01:36It is filled with cornfields and cows
01:40and we all kind of help each other out whenever we need it.
01:44Crimes are very rare in Ellington.
01:47And that kind of stuff doesn't happen there.
01:579-1-1, can I help you?
01:59Hello?
02:01Anyhow.
02:04What's the address?
02:05Hello?
02:08At 10-16 a.m., a 9-1-1 call came in from a male moaning into the phone.
02:14And it was a reported home invasion on Birchview Drive in Ellington.
02:20A home invasion in a small town like Ellington would be considered a major crime.
02:24So at that point, all the troopers that we had are sent to that area.
02:28So the first troopers that get there, they go in, guns are on, to clear the house.
02:33Through the front door, which was unlocked,
02:37to find Rick DeBate, the homeowner, alive on the kitchen floor lying on his face.
02:43One hand zip-tied to a folding chair,
02:46one hand outstretched, and blood on the floor.
02:50Rick DeBate appeared to be injured but stable
02:53and immediately described the intruder as a stocky, large male,
02:58about 6'4", with a deep, grovelly, like, Vin Diesel-type voice,
03:04dressed all in camouflage and wearing gloves.
03:07He asks him for his wallet and assaults him with a box cutter and a blowtorch.
03:14But then he says that down in the basement in front of him,
03:19the intruder killed his wife.
03:23Connie DeBate.
03:28Rick was in shock,
03:29but he thinks the intruder had fled the basement out to the backyard.
03:34Two of the troopers were sent downstairs to clear the basement.
03:39They could see blood on the stairs, blood on the wall.
03:42When they walked down there,
03:43they'd have to go through an area that had tools on the floor.
03:47They immediately see a handgun on the floor
03:50and then notice the bulkhead is open.
03:54In Connecticut, we call it a bulkhead.
03:56It's the cellar door that covers the opening of the basement at the ground level.
04:02And then in a dark section of the basement,
04:06they find Rick's wife lying on her back, deceased.
04:12Arriving on the scene, there was police cars all in the neighborhood.
04:16The media was already assembling.
04:18By the time we arrived,
04:20Rick DeBate had already been transported to the hospital
04:22because he had puncture wounds on both of his legs,
04:25his left shoulder, and cuts on his head.
04:28But they're not life-thartening.
04:31The entire street was full of state troopers and police dogs.
04:36It was insane.
04:38I had looked out my kitchen window
04:40and saw a state trooper with his rifle drawn on Connie's house.
04:48Connie DeBate was one of my best friends.
04:51I had no idea what was going on, and I immediately called Connie.
04:56I was panicked and was hoping that she would answer her phone.
05:02But she did not.
05:05When we turned on to Birchview Drive, it was a scene I'll never forget.
05:10There was a sense of urgency.
05:12Neighbors don't know, is someone on the loose?
05:15Are they worried for our safety?
05:17We were told to stay in our houses,
05:19so I was really scared for us as a neighborhood,
05:23but I was also nervous and scared for Connie and Rick.
05:28We have a six-foot, four-stocky Vin Diesel murderer
05:34in camouflage running around the area.
05:37And who knows what that person's capable of?
05:41Our department basically locked down all the roads in the neighborhood,
05:44got a hold of the local schools.
05:47The community was shocked, was shaken.
05:51Our team is out interviewing neighbors
05:53to find out if they saw anything going on out of the ordinary,
05:56as well as more information about Connie and Rick DeBate.
06:02Speaking to those witnesses,
06:04earlier on that morning,
06:05everything appeared normal, nothing out of place.
06:09Some of the neighbors that were particularly close with the debates
06:13described Connie as a wonderful, fun friend that they loved.
06:19And Rick was the life of the party.
06:22Connie moved into the neighborhood,
06:24and that's when I met her.
06:25She was bringing everyone homemade fudge
06:29in a way to introduce herself,
06:31and she just had this vibe about her
06:34that just drew you to her.
06:36She was the most caring, loving, thoughtful person
06:40that I have ever met in my life.
06:43Connie was a pharmaceutical sales rep and an EMT
06:46because that was just her nature,
06:48is to help people.
06:50Connie was an extraordinarily good mom
06:54and had two boys, seven and nine.
06:57Connie and Rick met at a party after college.
07:02Rick became a director of IT,
07:05which he seemed to be successful at,
07:07and he was really a good friend,
07:10and I instantly grew to like him.
07:13Connie and Rick were the couple
07:17that everybody was a little jealous about.
07:20They never fought.
07:21They joked around a lot together.
07:23He doted over her.
07:25They were a match made in heaven.
07:36Everybody's still looking for the person
07:38who committed the home invasion,
07:40but at this point, I'm assigned to go talk to Rick.
07:43He's the only witness that we have
07:45that knows what happened in the house.
07:48So when he got to the hospital,
07:49we walk into Rick DeBate's room.
07:51We could see a little bit of dry blood on his face,
07:55and we could see blood on his hands
07:56from fighting the assailant.
07:58He's got some superficial injuries from the assault.
08:02Do you know of anybody who would want to do this?
08:05A contractor.
08:07It was a contractor that we took the small claims for
08:10because he took some of our money.
08:12I sent a text to our sergeant at the house
08:15just to let him know that this person
08:17could be on the radar,
08:18and they had already learned of the contractor
08:21through one of the neighbors.
08:24I told the police that
08:25when I had seen the state trooper
08:27with his rifle drawn on Connie's house,
08:31all I kept thinking about was that
08:33she had told us about some issues
08:35that she was having with a contractor.
08:37He did a job that was not complete.
08:40He took their money,
08:42and they were taking him to court,
08:43and he was pretty hostile towards them.
08:47I thought maybe the contractor
08:49had barricaded them into the house
08:51and had Connie and Rick
08:54holding them against their will.
08:56The neighbor's saying it,
08:57and Rick's saying it,
08:59so this person could definitely be somebody of interest.
09:03And that's why the sergeant sent two detectives
09:05right away to talk to them.
09:09There were two separate vandalism calls
09:11a couple months before Connie had been killed.
09:14My window was fast.
09:16They decided to get a gun for personal protection.
09:19The quote was,
09:20I'm sticking to my story,
09:21and I need to get a lawyer.
09:24This person who's charged with murder
09:27is just out and about
09:29what is going on.
09:44We had the dog teams that were out
09:46searching the woods looking for the assailant.
09:49But we were given information about a contractor
09:53that may have been having a feud
09:54with the debates about work
09:57not completed at their house.
09:58Rick said they were taking him to court.
10:01This was the only person that we knew so far
10:02that could have a problem with the debate family,
10:05and his name was Ken Sweeney.
10:08Two detectives are sent out immediately
10:10to find Ken Sweeney
10:11to talk to him about his whereabouts that morning.
10:16At the hospital,
10:17Rick Debate also told us about
10:19two separate vandalism calls
10:21two months before Connie's murder.
10:23And they had to do with vehicles.
10:25One was rags stuffed into Connie's tailpipe.
10:29For the following week,
10:31my window was smashed.
10:33Freaked us out a little bit.
10:35Connie immediately called me,
10:37and she was really convinced
10:38that the contractor had done this.
10:41Soon after that,
10:42they decided that it would be
10:44a good idea to have a gun in the house.
10:46For protection.
10:50Next, we asked Rick Debate
10:52to clarify the timeline
10:53so we could figure out
10:55exactly what happened
10:56at Connie and Rick's home that morning.
10:58He had left for work.
11:00It was around 8.30 or so.
11:08He sends his boss an email
11:10that he has to go back to his house.
11:12Gets home around 9 o'clock in the morning.
11:14He goes in through the garage.
11:17Once he gets inside,
11:19he hears noises up in his bedroom.
11:21So he goes upstairs and checks,
11:23and that's when he runs into
11:24an intruder in the walk-in closet.
11:27I opened up,
11:28and there's this camouflage view.
11:31This is where it all gets soaked.
11:33I never had a night this happening.
11:34I think I just...
11:35Take your time.
11:37I can see that it was hard
11:38for him to talk about,
11:40but Rick said the intruder
11:42had a bowie knife on him.
11:44Grabs him,
11:45asks him for his money,
11:46his wallet,
11:47and his PIN numbers,
11:48which he gave to him.
11:53At the house,
11:54in the bedroom,
11:55nothing appeared to be ransacked.
11:57In Rick and Connie's closet,
11:59we did locate on the top shelf
12:02a locked gun box.
12:04We found the key
12:05in the drawer of their nightstand.
12:07Inside that was a Ruger 357
12:11unloaded with a trigger lock on it.
12:13The intruder probably
12:14didn't see it up there.
12:17Rick hears the garage door open,
12:18and he realizes that it's Connie
12:21coming back home from a workout
12:23at the local YMCI.
12:25That's when I yelled,
12:26there's someone in the house.
12:28She must have ran into the basement
12:30because we have two guns in the house.
12:32One was in the basement
12:33and there's a lockbox
12:34and one's in our closet.
12:35The one downstairs was loaded.
12:39The intruder runs down the stairs,
12:41and then Rick chases the intruder
12:44down into the basement.
12:46I just hear, like, the loudest bang.
12:50And I saw my wife laying in the ground.
12:52I didn't hear her at all after that.
12:58We ventured into the basement.
13:00Right at the bottom of the stairs,
13:02there was obvious drops of blood on the floor.
13:05There was a butane torch,
13:07zip ties,
13:09a hammer,
13:10utility knife.
13:12And clearly on the floor
13:14was another Ruger 357 revolver.
13:18There was three spent rounds
13:20and there was two live rounds
13:21still in the cylinder.
13:23Just beyond where the 357 was located,
13:26we located Connie,
13:28deceased,
13:28on the floor.
13:31She was laying on her back.
13:33She had what appeared to be
13:34a gunshot wound to the back of her head
13:36and also a gunshot wound to her belly
13:39in a downward trajectory.
13:42We searched the area
13:43to see if there was a third round.
13:45And in fact,
13:45we did find a bullet projectile
13:47in the ceiling joists.
13:51Connie had a cell phone
13:52tucked into her waistband
13:54as well as a Fitbit monitor
13:56clipped to the waistband
13:57on her left side.
14:01After Rick sees
14:02the intruder shoot Connie,
14:04the intruder drags Rick to bait,
14:06sets him down into a chair,
14:08zip ties one leg
14:10and one arm to this chair
14:12and then assaults Rick
14:14with a razor knife
14:15and a blowtorch
14:17from the basement,
14:18which all belonged to Rick.
14:20When I hear the zip ties,
14:21I'm thinking,
14:22okay, the assailant came prepared
14:23to restrain someone.
14:25Could it be a targeted home invasion?
14:27Somebody who has a problem
14:28with the debate feeling?
14:29Like the contractor,
14:30Ken Sweeney,
14:31who detectives are still looking for.
14:33So I'm opening
14:34to grab the porch
14:36and all I did
14:38was just push it up
14:39toward his face area.
14:40It felt like I made
14:41burn him a little.
14:43At that point,
14:43the intruder drops
14:44everything he's doing
14:45and runs out the basement
14:46through the bulkhead.
14:51I walked up the stairs,
14:52crawled, whatever.
14:54So you got away
14:55from the chair at that point?
14:56I was still attached to me.
14:58Once he gets upstairs,
14:59that's when he grabs
15:00his cell phone
15:01and then calls 911.
15:07Next, all electronic devices
15:09at the scene
15:10were seized as evidence.
15:11That would include cell phones,
15:13laptops, iPads.
15:14I've never personally seized
15:16a Fitbit at a crime scene,
15:17but we took that as well.
15:19Let's get the warrants ready
15:20for all the electronic data
15:21so they can be processed
15:22for any digital evidence
15:23that might be helpful.
15:27Later that day,
15:28the news came out
15:29that a woman is murdered.
15:31An Ellington woman
15:33was killed in her home
15:34after being shot
15:35in the head and stomach.
15:37The victim has been identified
15:38as 39-year-old Connie DeBate.
15:42I got a phone call
15:43from a neighbor.
15:44She just kept screaming out,
15:45Connie's dead.
15:47And in that moment,
15:50life just stood still.
15:52It was a moment in time
15:53that I never, ever in my life
15:56want to repeat again.
15:58And all I kept thinking about
16:00were Connie's kids
16:01and how are they going to
16:03get through life without her.
16:09I'll never forget,
16:10my dad called in the evening
16:12and he said that Connie is gone.
16:14And I said,
16:15what do you mean?
16:17He said that somebody broke
16:18into the house
16:19and murdered my sister.
16:20It was just so unbelievable.
16:22She was only 39 years old.
16:24At the peak of her life
16:26with her young kids
16:26and her family
16:27and her career,
16:29so much to live for.
16:30It was awful.
16:35By this time,
16:36detectives found
16:37the contractor, Ken Sweeney,
16:38at a job site.
16:40Ken Sweeney, he admitted
16:41there was some bad blood
16:42between him and the debates,
16:44but he didn't feel like
16:45he had that much animosity
16:47or hatred towards them.
16:49It was just a basic
16:50misunderstanding about
16:51what was supposed to
16:53to be done at the house.
16:55Detectives said
16:56Ken Sweeney was very cooperative.
16:59He had a rock-solid alibi
17:00of being at this job site
17:02during the time of the murder.
17:04That was corroborated
17:05by his workers
17:06and he was more than happy
17:09to give us DNA samples.
17:11At that point,
17:12we had a decent feeling
17:13that Ken Sweeney's not
17:14the intruder,
17:14so then who is?
17:20In processing the scene,
17:21there were some things
17:22that did make sense.
17:23For example,
17:24there was a small window
17:26in the basement
17:27gently laying on the floor
17:28with no damage.
17:31Rick DeVay mentioned
17:32that basement window
17:33might have been
17:34a point of entry.
17:36The glass isn't broken,
17:37so we went to the window
17:39next to it
17:39and had someone
17:40push it from the outside,
17:41and when it hit the floor,
17:43it shattered into
17:43a million pieces,
17:44and there was no evidence
17:46of anyone being
17:46outside that window.
17:47There was cobwebs
17:48in the frame
17:49that weren't disturbed
17:50by anyone coming through it.
17:51It was odd.
17:53Also, the detectives
17:54at the hospital,
17:55they were relaying to us
17:56that Rick had
17:57very superficial injury.
17:59Why would a reported
18:01armed intruder
18:02murder his wife
18:03in front of him
18:03and then not injure him seriously
18:06and leave that witness behind?
18:08Finally, we found something
18:09within feet of the house
18:10outside that made no sense.
18:12It was just very suspicious.
18:29What stood out to me
18:30as odd
18:30is that an armed intruder
18:32broke into this house,
18:32murdered someone,
18:33and then didn't seriously
18:35injure the Rick debate.
18:37And then later on,
18:38I learned from talking
18:39to the troopers
18:40that when first responders
18:42arrived on scene,
18:43they found Rick debate's wallet
18:45in the lawn
18:45with all its contents
18:46within feet of the staircase
18:47from that bulkhead
18:48where the intruder
18:49reportedly fled from.
18:51The state police canine
18:52was brought in to assist.
18:55The dogs kind of know
18:56we need to find
18:57a track of an assailant.
19:00And they give off certain smells,
19:02endorphins that the dogs
19:04are keyed in on.
19:05The dog tracked
19:06from the bulkhead
19:08to the area
19:09where Rick debate's wallet was
19:10and went to where Rick debate
19:13was still being treated
19:13inside the house
19:14by EMS.
19:15The dog handler then
19:16had the dog
19:17start a new track.
19:19The dog, again,
19:20left the bulkhead area,
19:22went to the wallet,
19:23and then led towards
19:24the ambulance.
19:25And the ambulance at that point
19:26was where Rick debate
19:27was located.
19:29That was a big red flag
19:30to us.
19:31What's going on here?
19:38After learning
19:39all of this stuff
19:39from the scene
19:41at the hospital,
19:42we ask Rick debate,
19:43what are we going to find
19:44during our investigation
19:46that's going to
19:47put you in a bad light?
19:49Then Rick drops
19:51a huge bomb
19:51and tells us
19:53that she's having a baby
19:56with a woman
19:56named Sarah Ganser.
19:59That was an important detail
20:00to leave out.
20:02We have a problem.
20:04Connie was well aware
20:05of what's going on.
20:07She wanted to have
20:08another baby
20:08due to her back issues
20:10and her health issues.
20:11That couldn't happen.
20:12Rick said
20:13that it was Connie's idea
20:15to have Rick
20:17make a baby
20:18the old-fashioned way
20:18with Sarah,
20:20an ex-high school girlfriend.
20:22My wife kind of
20:23brought it up to me
20:24because she knew
20:24about Sarah.
20:26Did it bother her
20:27that I impregnated
20:28another woman?
20:29It was very untraditional.
20:31She was amazing.
20:32I never expected
20:33things to go that way.
20:36It didn't ring well
20:37with me.
20:40We continued
20:41to question him
20:43and his eventual
20:44story to us
20:45was that he was
20:46having an affair
20:46that started
20:47in the spring
20:48of 2015
20:51and the pregnancy
20:52was an accident
20:52but he still said
20:54that Connie knew
20:55about it.
20:56She was mad
20:57for a little bit
20:57but really
20:58wanted to keep
20:59our family together.
21:00I think she really
21:01wanted to somehow
21:03have contact
21:04with another kid.
21:05Rick said
21:06that they were going
21:06to co-parent the baby
21:07with Sarah.
21:08It raises my eyebrows.
21:10It didn't sit right
21:11with me at all.
21:13And then
21:14the more we talked
21:15to Rick
21:16the more he changed
21:17his story.
21:18The time that he
21:19left the house
21:19would change.
21:21The time he got back
21:22would change.
21:23How he saw his wife
21:24get killed.
21:27Whether or not
21:28he was in front
21:29of the intruder
21:31or in back
21:32of the intruder.
21:33The glaring one
21:34for us at this point
21:35is Rick was telling us
21:36he got home
21:37at 9 o'clock
21:38and this all occurred
21:40within a half an hour
21:41from him getting home
21:42so that'll bring us
21:43to 9.30.
21:45The 9-1-1 call
21:46didn't come in
21:47until 10.16.
21:48So we realized
21:49there's about
21:5045 minutes missing
21:51from Rick DeBate's story
21:53but he couldn't
21:54fill that in
21:54and his quote was
21:56I'm sticking to my story
21:58and I need to get a lawyer.
22:00If somebody wants
22:00to get a lawyer
22:01to speak to
22:01then that is
22:03the end of our interview.
22:06At the hospital
22:07we sat with him
22:08for maybe a little
22:09more than seven hours
22:10and there was
22:12not one tear
22:14and that just
22:15didn't seem right.
22:18We started looking
22:19at him as a victim
22:20as a witness
22:21but by the time
22:22we're done
22:23with the interview
22:23my focus had shifted
22:24him more into
22:25a person of interest.
22:32Our next stop
22:33was to go interview
22:34Sarah Ganser
22:35Rick's girlfriend
22:36who's pregnant.
22:37One of the things
22:38we're trying to find out
22:38during Sarah's interview
22:39is whether or not
22:40she had any involvement
22:42to what happened
22:43to Connie in the house.
22:45In the back of my mind
22:46I'm also thinking
22:47what if Sarah did it?
22:48Maybe Rick's
22:49covering up for Sarah.
22:56When we get to Sarah's house
22:57we tell her that
22:58Connie had been killed
22:59in the house
22:59and that Rick
23:00was in the hospital.
23:01She seemed very empathetic.
23:03Sarah Ganser
23:04was somebody
23:05Rick had grown up with.
23:07She told us
23:08that she and Rick
23:09started a relationship
23:10in the spring
23:12of 2015
23:14and she got pregnant
23:15and was going
23:17to have a baby
23:17in February of 2016.
23:20Her side of the story
23:22was that Rick said
23:23you make me happy
23:24I want to spend
23:25the rest of my life
23:26with you
23:27and that Rick
23:28promised her
23:29he was going to get
23:29a divorce from Connie.
23:31finally she says
23:32that Connie
23:34did not know
23:35about the baby.
23:38I told her straight out
23:39Rick told us
23:40that it was Connie's idea
23:41to have another baby
23:43but couldn't
23:44so
23:45you guys were all going
23:46to co-parent the baby.
23:48I don't think
23:49she believed us
23:49at first
23:50but I told her
23:51more details
23:52and Sarah
23:53broke down.
23:55She had no idea
23:57her boyfriend
23:58Rick was a liar.
23:59She was crying
24:00like more emotion
24:02than Rick showed us
24:03during the entire
24:04seven hour interview.
24:05It's not always
24:06100%
24:06but my general feeling
24:08after talking to Sarah
24:09was I don't think
24:10she had any part
24:11in Connie's murder.
24:14at this point
24:15we know
24:16Rick is lying
24:17to us
24:17and we started
24:18thinking that
24:19there was a plan
24:20here
24:20to get Connie
24:22out of the picture.
24:24Well Rick
24:25if you killed
24:26Connie
24:27I'll make you
24:28pay for it.
24:40After the interview
24:41with Rick
24:42and after talking
24:42to Sarah
24:43we know that Rick
24:44is comfortable
24:44lying to us
24:45and he's the main
24:47person of interest.
24:49But at this point
24:50there was no evidence
24:51to prove
24:52that Rick murdered
24:53his wife.
24:55So our next stop
24:56was to go
24:57to the medical
24:58examiner's office.
24:58I was one of the
24:59detectives at the autopsy
25:01and we're hoping
25:02that we can find
25:03something to solve
25:04Connie's murder.
25:05The doctors tell us
25:06that the bullet
25:07in the back of the head
25:08was instant death.
25:09I tend to think
25:10the one in the joist
25:11was the first one.
25:13We think she's facing
25:14the murderer.
25:15That person
25:16raises the gun
25:17she hits it
25:18that's what causes
25:20the shot
25:20into the joist.
25:22She turns around
25:23there's nowhere to go
25:24and then
25:25the headshot
25:26was the second one
25:27that dropped her down.
25:28The third shot
25:29was when she was
25:30laying just based
25:31on the angle
25:32of where the bullet
25:32hit in her stomach.
25:35Both bullets
25:36were found inside
25:37Connie.
25:37There were no exit wounds
25:39and there's a lot of evidence
25:41hairs, fibers
25:42on her person.
25:45Next, we sent the gun
25:46to forensics
25:48but there's nothing
25:49on the gun
25:50to prove
25:51who had done this.
25:53When we talked to Rick
25:55he had mentioned
25:56that Connie knew
25:57about both the guns
25:58in the house.
25:59During some of the interviews
26:00we had spoken to
26:01family and friends
26:03of Connie
26:03and we asked
26:04them about
26:05whether or not
26:06she liked guns
26:07but nobody
26:08that we had spoken
26:09to gave us
26:09the indication
26:10that Connie
26:10would keep
26:11the only loaded gun
26:12in the house
26:12in the basement
26:13adjacent to the room
26:15where the kids
26:15are always playing.
26:17That's suspicious.
26:19It seemed
26:19more likely
26:21that Connie
26:22never even knew
26:22that they owned
26:23a second gun.
26:27In an investigation
26:28like this
26:29if you don't have
26:30an open mind
26:30you could be wrong
26:31and you'll miss
26:32something very important.
26:34But no matter
26:35what we did
26:35we couldn't find
26:36any leads
26:37to corroborate
26:38Rick's story
26:39that an intruder
26:40had entered his home.
26:43Nothing appeared
26:43to be ransacked
26:45that there was
26:45that basement window
26:46possible point of entry
26:47that was gently
26:48laying on the floor
26:50with no damage
26:50and the superficial injuries
26:52that Rick allegedly
26:53sustained from this
26:54six foot four
26:55intruder
26:56that had just
26:57murdered his wife.
27:00We also got
27:01the dog twice
27:02tracking the assailant
27:03and going directly
27:05to Rick.
27:07It just didn't
27:08make any sense.
27:10So at this point
27:11everything's pointing
27:12back to Rick
27:13as being the only suspect.
27:22Based on Rick's
27:23first initial story
27:24to us
27:24Connie was shot
27:26at 9.30
27:27but the 9-1-1 call
27:29didn't come in
27:30until 10.16
27:31so it became
27:33very clear
27:34that the electronic evidence
27:35was going to be
27:36the dominating feature
27:37of this investigation
27:38because everything
27:40is time stamped.
27:41So it was going to
27:42start painting
27:43the bigger picture
27:44of what happened
27:45at Connie and Rick's
27:47home that morning.
27:48I do a search warrant
27:50for video surveillance
27:51at the YMCA
27:51to clarify the timeline.
27:54And as far as
27:55Connie's Fitbit
27:56I didn't know
27:56too much about them
27:58but if it has
27:59any records
27:59I'm going to get
28:00those records.
28:02With all of the
28:03technology
28:03and so many
28:04search warrants
28:06this is going to
28:07take a lot of time
28:07to prepare
28:08and then to go through.
28:18The wake
28:19for Connie
28:20had been
28:20maybe a week
28:21after her
28:22her murder
28:23there was
28:24lines out the door
28:26you could see
28:27what an impact
28:28Connie had
28:28in this world.
28:29She had tons
28:30of friends there
28:31and we had
28:34gotten up
28:35to give our
28:36condolences
28:36to the family
28:37and I shook
28:39Rick's hand
28:40and I said
28:41I'm really sorry
28:42and he kind of
28:44glanced over me.
28:46That seemed
28:47very odd.
28:49At some point
28:50that day
28:51Rick came out
28:52with something
28:52saying that
28:53this isn't as bad
28:55as it was
28:55for a grandpa
28:56or so
28:57it's not as painful
28:58or it's easier
28:59like it wasn't
29:00a big deal.
29:01We were all
29:02looking at each other
29:03like how could
29:04he be saying this
29:05he's just so
29:07unfeeling
29:08and transactional
29:09not a grieving husband.
29:15Soon after
29:16Connie's wake
29:17I heard
29:18from people
29:19who know
29:20Rick from
29:21high school
29:23that his
29:24high school
29:24sweetheart
29:25was his girlfriend
29:26and that
29:27she was pregnant.
29:28It was definitely
29:29a gut punch
29:29to hear
29:30Connie would have
29:31been devastated
29:31this is not
29:32something that
29:33she would have
29:33been okay with.
29:35That moment
29:36when I found out
29:36about this
29:37started the doubting.
29:39I thought that
29:40Rick was indeed
29:41the person
29:41who killed
29:43Connie.
29:54When detectives
29:55processed
29:55the debate house
29:56they found copies
29:57of life insurance
29:58policies
29:59one for Rick
30:00one for Connie
30:01that day
30:02I made sure
30:03to call
30:03the company
30:04to let them
30:04know
30:05where the
30:06state police
30:06were investigating
30:07the suspicious
30:08death of Connie
30:08and not to
30:09release any money
30:10to anyone
30:11who's trying
30:12to cash in
30:13on anything.
30:16Three weeks
30:16later
30:17I was contacted
30:18by them
30:18to let me know
30:19that Rick
30:20had tried
30:20to cash in
30:21on the
30:21life insurance
30:22policy
30:23he had
30:23on Connie
30:24for $475,000.
30:32when I heard
30:33from Detective
30:34Payot
30:34that right
30:35before Connie's
30:36murder
30:36Rick had dropped
30:37back his insurance
30:38and increased
30:39hers
30:45that's when
30:45the pieces
30:46of the puzzle
30:46were starting
30:47to come together
30:48that Rick
30:49did do this.
30:51He made a plan
30:52and to have
30:53a new family
30:54to replace
30:55my sister.
30:56I was just
30:57in shock.
30:58You know
30:58very hard
30:58to process
30:59and just
31:00so unbelievable.
31:07Rick had a motive
31:08and opportunity.
31:10Now we just need
31:11the electronic evidence
31:12to corroborate
31:13that Rick did this.
31:14But we're still
31:15waiting for the search
31:16warrants
31:16to come to the office.
31:19Law enforcement
31:20became very tight-lipped
31:22about the investigation
31:23and it really put
31:25people in that
31:26community on edge.
31:28Why hasn't
31:28an arrest been made?
31:29People wanted answers.
31:32Being pretty positive
31:34that Rick had
31:35murdered my sister
31:36you know
31:37I was worried
31:37about the kids
31:38who remained
31:39in the care of Rick
31:41so that was scary.
31:43I kind of just
31:45ignored Rick
31:46even though he was
31:46still living
31:47in the neighborhood
31:47it really upset me
31:49because I think
31:51he felt like
31:52I'm going to get
31:53away with this.
31:55In the following months
31:56we started receiving
31:57evidence back
31:58from the subpoenas
31:59of a search warrant
32:00sent out for
32:01digital evidence.
32:02We were able to start
32:03seeing how calculated
32:04this cold-blooded
32:05husband truly was.
32:18as the search warrants
32:20start coming in
32:21it'll lead you
32:22down different trails
32:22to do more search
32:23warrants
32:24to get more information.
32:26That was extremely
32:27time-consuming.
32:28Just Sarah's
32:29Facebook records
32:30were over 36,000 pages
32:32but we were able
32:34to at least go back
32:35to May of 2015
32:37when Rick and Sarah
32:39first knew about the baby.
32:42through Sarah's
32:43Facebook comments
32:45through her friends
32:46we see her
32:46kind of explaining
32:47that once Connie
32:48finds out
32:49about the baby
32:50she's going to
32:51eviscerate Rick
32:52in court
32:52and he's going to
32:53lose everything.
32:55Again,
32:56that shows motive.
32:59And he's still
33:00telling Sarah
33:01that he's going
33:02to get a divorce
33:03but at this point
33:04we speculate
33:04he's not planning
33:05a divorce.
33:06There was a plan
33:08in Rick's head
33:09to have something
33:11done before
33:12the baby
33:13was born.
33:16And it came down
33:17to Rick
33:18figuring out
33:19that the only way
33:19he's going to
33:20get himself out
33:20of this
33:21is to kill Connie.
33:24So Rick used
33:26those two
33:26vandalism incidents
33:27that he actually
33:29committed himself
33:29to try to convince
33:31Connie that it would
33:32be a good idea
33:33to have a gun
33:34in the house.
33:34And he ends up
33:36buying the guns
33:37in October.
33:41The next electronic
33:43evidence that came
33:43in were
33:44Connie's Fitbit records.
33:46The Fitbit is hooked
33:47up to your phone
33:48so it actually
33:49has a concrete
33:51timestamp.
33:51We didn't get
33:52heart rate with this
33:53one.
33:53It was kind of
33:54a basic model
33:54but we can see
33:56distance.
33:57We can see steps.
34:00On December 23rd
34:02we could see
34:04when Connie woke
34:04up and started
34:05walking around.
34:06When she left
34:07to go to the YMCA
34:08you can see
34:09that her Fitbit
34:10went stationary
34:10meaning she's
34:12in the car
34:12she's not
34:12registering any steps.
34:14We had gotten
34:15video surveillance
34:15at the YMCA
34:16and as soon as
34:17Connie gets out
34:18of the car
34:18we can see her
34:19walking into
34:20the YMCA
34:21through her Fitbit
34:22but also through
34:23the video.
34:24We see her
34:25driving from
34:26the YMCA
34:27back to the house
34:29from the Fitbit
34:30we can see
34:30when she started
34:31walking into
34:32the house
34:32and that's
34:33when the front
34:34door opens.
34:36The final thing
34:37the Fitbit
34:37showed us
34:38was when
34:39Connie stops
34:40moving
34:40which was
34:4110.05 a.m.
34:44So we were able
34:45to speculate
34:45that that was
34:46probably the time
34:47of death
34:47about half hour
34:49after what
34:49Rick had told us.
34:52We also found out
34:54from Rick's
34:54internet usage
34:55that the information
34:57about driving
34:58to work
34:58and sending
34:59an email
35:00to his boss
35:00from the roadway
35:01about being late
35:02that was sent
35:03from the house
35:04based on the
35:05computer records
35:05the IP address.
35:06Rick had planned
35:07on establishing
35:08that he wasn't home
35:09and he came back
35:09and found an intruder
35:10but what investigators
35:12believe happened
35:13is that Rick never
35:14left the house
35:15that morning.
35:17And then we also
35:18found out that
35:19after learning
35:20that Sarah
35:20was pregnant
35:21with his child
35:21in May
35:22Rick was
35:24looking up
35:25information
35:25in June, July
35:26on how to poison
35:27somebody
35:28through dozens
35:29of internet searches
35:33but for some reason
35:35he ends up
35:36buying the guns
35:36in October
35:38and it's almost
35:39like a progression
35:40of how Rick
35:41thinks he's going
35:42to get himself
35:42out of the situation.
35:46In this case
35:47obviously we found
35:49the pregnancy
35:49with the girlfriend
35:50insurance money
35:51avoiding the whole
35:53divorce
35:53it just didn't
35:55happen out of the blue.
35:56The scheme
35:56took months
35:57of planning.
36:06In May of 2015
36:08Rick finds out
36:09that his girlfriend
36:10is pregnant
36:11with his child.
36:13Then in July of 2015
36:15Rick conducted searches
36:17on how to poison
36:18Connie
36:18and how to poison
36:19But in October
36:21he changed his plan
36:22and decided
36:23he would instead
36:24shoot Connie to death.
36:26First to scare
36:28Connie
36:28into allowing
36:29a gun in the house
36:30he vandalizes
36:32his own cars.
36:34Debate
36:35then buys
36:35one gun
36:36Connie knows about
36:37which is supposedly
36:38for protection.
36:39And then a second gun
36:41that she doesn't know about.
36:42He hides the second gun
36:43in the basement
36:43so Connie
36:44won't accidentally
36:45find it.
36:49And then Rick
36:50increased
36:51Connie's life insurance
36:52to $475,000.
36:56Then on December 23rd
36:58Debate pretends
36:59to leave for work
37:01but instead
37:02he stays behind
37:03laying in wait
37:03for Connie to return.
37:05Rick removes
37:07the window
37:07that was in the basement
37:08trying to stage it
37:10to look like
37:11somebody else did it
37:12to get into the house.
37:15Then
37:15once Connie returns
37:17he lures her
37:18to the basement
37:19and shoots her to death.
37:26Finally
37:27he stages
37:27an attack
37:29pretending
37:29to be a victim
37:30and injuring himself.
37:34And then
37:35he calls
37:359-1-1.
37:42By April 2017
37:43we finally
37:44had enough
37:45digital evidence
37:46to support
37:47probable cause
37:47for an arrest
37:48of Rick Debate.
37:49He was charged
37:50with one count
37:51of murder
37:51one count
37:52of tampering
37:53or fabricating
37:54physical evidence
37:54and one count
37:55of falsely
37:56reporting an incident.
38:05Detective Payette
38:06had called me
38:06and he asked me
38:08if I knew
38:09where Connie's
38:09boys were
38:10and I said
38:11yes
38:12they're down
38:12for an Easter egg
38:14hunt with me
38:14and he said
38:16good
38:16I need to know
38:17that they're not
38:17with Rick.
38:18He said
38:19that he had
38:19gotten an arrest
38:20warrant
38:20for Rick
38:22for the murder
38:23of my sister.
38:24It felt like
38:25such a relief
38:27because she thought
38:28hey this is
38:28this is never
38:29going to happen.
38:32We finally
38:33felt like
38:33we got some
38:34momentum
38:34and then the rugs
38:35pulled out
38:36from under us.
38:44When Rick Debate
38:45was arrested
38:46there was a sense
38:47of relief
38:48from the community.
38:51I downloaded
38:52the arrest warrant
38:53and I read it
38:54from cover to cover.
38:56Finding out
38:57that Rick
38:57was planning
38:58this for months
38:59was shocking
39:02because all along
39:04he was playing
39:05the perfect husband,
39:07the perfect father,
39:08the perfect son-in-law.
39:10You didn't think
39:11about anyone
39:11but yourself
39:12in that moment.
39:13He duped
39:14all of us.
39:18But then
39:18the community
39:19was shocked
39:20because following
39:22Rick's arrest
39:22he was released
39:23on bond.
39:25So he was out
39:26until trial
39:27could commence.
39:28He put up
39:29his home
39:30as collateral
39:31in order for him
39:32to post
39:33this one million
39:34dollar bond.
39:36I found it
39:37very bizarre
39:37that you have
39:38this man
39:38who's charged
39:39with murder
39:40just out
39:42and about.
39:44Rick went
39:44to jail
39:45for about
39:46three days
39:47and then
39:48he was out
39:49free.
39:49He was celebrating
39:50Christmas
39:51with his family.
39:54You're having
39:55parties at your house,
39:56you're out
39:56and about
39:57in the town,
39:58you're at bars.
40:00Meanwhile,
40:01I don't have
40:01my sister anymore
40:02and I'm like
40:03sick to my stomach
40:04almost.
40:05It was horrendous.
40:13The trial
40:14finally gets
40:15started
40:15on April 5,
40:162022.
40:18It's a highly
40:20anticipated trial
40:21so people
40:22are on the edge
40:22of their seats.
40:24Usually in a murder
40:25case,
40:26you hear about
40:27DNA.
40:28But in the
40:29Rick debate
40:29case,
40:30the Fitbit
40:31was the star
40:33of the show.
40:34Connie debates
40:35every step
40:36was logged
40:37the morning
40:37of the murder.
40:39It was labeled
40:40the Fitbit murder
40:41because Connie's
40:42Fitbit
40:43completely
40:44contradicted
40:45Rick's story.
40:46She was alive
40:47an hour
40:48after Rick
40:49said there was
40:50an intruder
40:51inside.
40:52Anything you'd
40:53like to say
40:53to your wife's
40:54family?
40:54No comment,
40:54folks.
40:57After weeks
40:58of the trial
40:59on May 10,
41:002022,
41:01the verdict
41:02is in
41:04and Rick
41:05debate
41:05is found
41:06guilty
41:06of all
41:07charges.
41:09Rick debate
41:10was sentenced
41:11to 65 years
41:12in prison
41:12with no chance
41:13of parole.
41:14That's where
41:14he belongs.
41:22He doesn't
41:22bring my sister
41:23back,
41:25but finally,
41:26you know,
41:27done.
41:27You know,
41:27he's going to get
41:28what he deserves.
41:32When the jury
41:33came back
41:33unanimous,
41:34I was elated.
41:39When I look
41:39at Rick debate,
41:40I think
41:41monster evil,
41:42but I also
41:42think pathetic.
41:44Coming up
41:45with a plan
41:46like this
41:46to end
41:47someone's life
41:47and destroy
41:48all these
41:49different people,
41:49his own kids.
41:50He hurt everyone.
42:01If Connie
42:01was in front
42:02of me here,
42:02I would tell
42:03her how much
42:03I love her.
42:05I wish
42:06I spent
42:06more time
42:07with her.
42:08Life gets
42:09in the way
42:09and you get
42:10distracted,
42:11but time
42:12is what's
42:13important.
42:15A friend
42:16and I
42:16walk at
42:17the cemetery.
42:18It's kind
42:19of like
42:19Connie walks
42:20kind of
42:20with us.
42:22You know,
42:23we go by
42:23her grave
42:24and we kind
42:25of just keep
42:25an eye
42:26on our girl
42:26and make
42:27sure that
42:28she knows
42:28that we're
42:28still thinking
42:29of her
42:31and that
42:31the boys
42:32are fine.
42:32They're amazing.
42:35I miss you,
42:36Connie.
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